The Premier League top 6's unsung heroes
The Premier League top 6's unsung heroes
Three defenders deserving of more praise
City fans prefer this player over Brazilian international
Youngster shining brightly in a difficult season for United
By Joshua Browne
12:00 AM GMT+1
Three top players
Three top players / Sebastian Frej/MB Media / Contributor, Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA / Contributor and Chris Brunskill/Fantasista / Contributor
As the Premier League season approaches its conclusion, plenty of superstar players are expected to deliver in the biggest games to determine where the title ends up.
From Kevin De Bruyne, to Bukayo Saka to Mohamed Salah, the top six teams have plenty of superstar players that can deliver these moments, but beyond the clubs will also being relying on some unsung heroes to carry the freight too.
Here's 90min's picks for each of the Premier League top six's unsung heroes:
Arsenal - Gabriel Magalhaes
Gabriel Magalhaes celebrates after Arsenal defeated Brighton.
Gabriel has established himself as a formidable centre half since arriving in the Premier League four years ago. / Steve Bardens/GettyImages
While his centre-back partner William Saliba may often receive more praise, Gabriel is quietly having a fine season for Arsenal.
With a stellar 72 aerial battles won and 77 clearances, the Brazilian is arguably the most robust and risk-free defender Mikel Arteta has at his disposal.
Gabriel arrived at the Emirates in 2020 as a fresh-faced 22-year-old from Lille. He has scored four goals this season for the Gunners, his latest coming in the 6-0 demolition of West Ham in February.
Liverpool - Alexis Mac Allister
Alexis Mac Allister
Alexis Mac Allister is in red-hot form for Liverpool. / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages
This season has seen considerable focus placed on the contributions of players like Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool's pursuit of silverware.
But just as much noise should be made over Alexis Mac Allister too, having made a huge impact at the heart of the Reds' midfield since joining the club for a bargain £35m fee.
Jurgen Klopp made it his mission to bring the Argentine to Anfield last summer and he has since proved his worth whether it's in the starting XI or featuring from the bench. Across his last seven Premier League starts, Mac Allister has come up with three goals and four assists.
Man City - Stefan Ortega
Stefan Ortega Moreno
Some Man City fans believe Stefan Ortega has been better than Ederson this season. / Richard Pelham/GettyImages
It's difficult to label anyone in the Manchester City team as an 'unsung hero,' but if there's one name deserving of more recognition then it's Stefan Ortega.
Ortega arrived at the Etihad last summer as Zack Steffen departed on loan, and the German has proven himself as a more-than-capable backup for Ederson. In fact, a segment of City fans still argue that Ortega provides more value than Ederson as the first-choice goalkeeper.
He certainly impressed supporters on Saturday, evading Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta with a Cruyff turn after a (rare) misplaced back pass from Rodri.
Aston Villa - Matty Cash
Matty Cash
Matty Cash has had a good season for Aston Villa. / James Baylis - AMA/GettyImages
Controversial perhaps given he's not always been a name in the starting XI and is currently sidelined with injury, but Poland international Matty Cash is a defender coveted by several clubs in the Premier League.
His tireless running and attack-minded style of play have been instrumental to Aston Villa's success this season, with Unai Emery's men pushing for Champions League qualification.
Cash started his career at Wycombe Wanderers and later the FAB academy before he signed his first professional contract with Nottingham Forest, establishing himself as a regular at right-back. He signed for Villa in September 2020.
Tottenham Hotspur - Pedro Porro
Pedro Porro
Pedro Porro has excelled under Ange Postecoglou's management. / Richard Pelham/GettyImages
Aggressive, passionate, and vigorous - which Premier League club wouldn't want this Spaniard in their team?
Pedro Porro is thriving under Ange Postecoglou, having made 27 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur and completing the full 90 minutes in 26 of them.
Additionally, the 24-year-old right back has provided seven assists, a tally on par with James Maddison and Brennan Johnson - a true testament to how good he's been for Spurs this season.
Man United - Kobbie Mainoo
Kobbie Mainoo
Kobbie Mainoo was deservedly called up for England duty by Gareth Southgate. / Visionhaus/GettyImages
In a season marked by underperformance and disappointment for the Red Devils, Kobbie Mainoo has emerged as a star.
Mainoo made his first league start for Manchester United this season in late November, in a 3–0 Premier League victory away to Everton, earning himself the Player of the Match award.
More recently, the youngster put £106m midfielder Enzo Fernandez to shame at Stamford Bridge and scored a stunning goal against arch rivals Liverpool, proving once again why so many have called for him to start in the Three Lions midfield at Euro 2024.
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Champions League
Real Madrid vs Man City: Preview, predictions and lineups
Real Madrid and Man City renew their thrilling Champions League rivalry
Madrid play host to first leg on Tuesday night
Both teams hopeful of securing respective league titles this season
By James Cormack
12:00 AM GMT+1
Real Madrid and Manchester City renew their thrilling Champions League rivalry when they meet in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday night.
These two clubs will now have faced off in each of the past three Champions League campaigns, with City avenging their heartbreaking semi-final defeat in 2022 by battering Madrid 4-0 in the second leg of last season's semi-final.
City have the advantage of playing the return leg on home soil, as they're travelling to the Spanish capital for the opening fixture.
The Cityzens head into the contest having recorded back-to-back wins in style, while Real Madrid enjoyed a week off as Spain sat down to enjoy the Copa del Rey final. Madrid have impressed domestically this term and are set to canter to the league title, but they were forced to work in the round of 16 against RB Leipzig to set up this blockbuster tie.
Here's 90min's preview of Tuesday's first leg in Madrid.
What time does Real Madrid vs Man City kick-off?
Location: Madrid, Spain
Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Date: Tuesday 9 April
Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA)
VAR: Jerome Brisard (FRA)
Real Madrid vs Man City H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Real Madrid: 1 win
Man City: 3 wins
Draws: 1
Last meeting: Man City 4-0 Real Madrid (17 May 2023) - Champions League
Current Form (all competitions)
Real Madrid
Man City
Real Madrid 2-0 Athletic Club - 31/03/24
Crystal Palace 2-4 Man City - 06/04/24
Osasuna 2-4 Real Madrid - 16/03/24
Man City 4-1 Aston Villa - 03/04/24
Real Madrid 4-0 Celta Vigo - 10/03/24
Man City 0-0 Arsenal - 31/03/24
Real Madrid 1-1 RB Leipzig - 06/03/24
Man City 2-0 Newcastle - 16/03/24
Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid - 02/03/24
Liverpool 1-1 Man City - 10/03/24
How to watch Real Madrid vs Man City on TV and live stream
Country
TV channel/live stream
United Kingdom
TNT Sports 2, discovery+ App, discovery+
United States
UniMás, Univision NOW, TUDN App, ViX, Paramount+, TUDN.com, TUDN USA
Canada
DAZN
Real Madrid team news
Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger
Eder Militao returned to action after the international break / Angel Martinez/GettyImages
The hosts have had plenty of time to prepare for Tuesday's first leg and are pretty healthy on the injury front.
Federico Valverde is fine to start after shaking off a knock, while Eder Militao could make his first start since August after recovering from an ACL tear.
Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba remain out of action, while bit-part player Dani Ceballos has recovered from a minor issue.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Man City
Madrid predicted lineup vs Man City (4-3-1-2): Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Militao, Mendy; Camavinga, Kroos, Valverde; Bellingham; Vinicius, Rodrygo.
Man City team news
Josko Gvardiol
Josko Gvardiol is a fresh injury concern for City / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages
City are unlikely to have Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker available again with the pair absent from training on Monday.
Fellow defender Josko Gvardiol also missed Monday's session and is a doubt for the first leg after picking up a knock on Saturday.
Phil Foden will return to the team after earning a rest at the weekend. Ederson could also make his comeback after a month out.
Man City predicted lineup vs Real Madrid
Man City predicted lineup vs Madrid (4-3-3): Ederson; Akanji, Stones, Dias, Lewis; Rodri, Foden, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Haaland, Grealish.
Real Madrid vs Man City score prediction
Are City showing signs of finding their imperious groove? Their two previous performances were certainly impressive and Pep Guardiola has done an excellent job of rotating his squad around to maintain freshness.
Thus, fatigue shouldn't play a major role on Tuesday despite Madrid's extended rest. City are well prepared for such a demanding schedule.
These sides have played out some unpredictable European classics in recent memory, with thrills more likely in the second leg. City will want to control the contest in Madrid, but the hosts boast the superstars capable of undermining the visitors' desires.
Expect a similar result to last season's semi-final - one that'd certainly benefit City.
Prediction: Real Madrid 1-1 Man City
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Champions League
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich: The results of their last 10 meetings
Arsenal and Bayern meet in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday
Bavarians have won the last three meetings 15-3 on aggregate
However, Gunners have been brilliant in 2024 while Bayern have struggled
By Jude Summerfield
3:00 AM GMT+1
Arsenal were heavily beaten the last time Bayern visited north London
Arsenal were heavily beaten the last time Bayern visited north London / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages
Arsenal and Bayern Munich meet in one of the juiciest Champions League quarter-finals of the 2023/24 season.
The Gunners have been brilliant so far in 2024 and have the chance to dish out some revenge for the heavy European defeats the Bavarians handed out to them during the 2010s. Thomas Tuchel's side won't win the Bundesliga title this season and have lost their last two games.
On the other hand, Mikel Arteta's squad is filled with optimism and sit at the top of the Premier League table after the weekend's action.
Attention from both sides now turns to Tuesday's first leg. Here's how they've fared in their last ten competitive meetings.
Arsenal 1-5 Bayern Munich - 7 March 2017
Arsenal FC v FC Bayern Munich - UEFA Champions League
Bayern ran riot in north London / Anadolu/GettyImages
There were a few nadirs from Arsenal's 'banter era', but this humiliation in 2017 might take first place.
The Gunners had made a bright start as they went about attempting to overturn a huge first-leg deficit as Theo Walcott netted. However, Laurent Koscielny was sent off at the start of the second half, allowing Robert Lewandowski to convert from the penalty spot.
A second-half Arsenal implosion saw Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa hit the back of the net before Arturo Vidal grabbed a late brace. The heavy defeat saw the Gunners knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the seventh season in a row and they wouldn't play in the competition again until 2023.
Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal - 15 February 2017
Alexis Sanchez
Arsenal were well beaten in Germany / Chris Brunskill Ltd/GettyImages
At one point in this last-16 first leg, things were looking reasonably rosy for Arsenal in Bavaria.
Robben had brilliantly fired in from 25 yards but Alexis Sanchez's rebound from a saved penalty meant the sides were level at half-time. However, the tie ran away from the visitors during a ten-minute period early in the second half which saw Lewandowski head in and Thiago Alcantara bag twice.
Thomas Muller crashed in a late fifth, leaving Arsenal's Champions League hopes in tatters.
Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal - 4 November 2015
UEFA Champions League - "FC Bayern Munich v Arsenal"
Bayern overwhelmed Arsenal in the group stages / VI-Images/GettyImages
Arsenal had beaten Bayern only a few weeks before this 5-1 defeat but were majorly outclassed when they made the return visit during the 2015 Champions League group stages.
Arsene Wenger's side were powerless to prevent a Bayern onslaught in the first half as Lewandowski headed in, Muller finished sharply and David Alaba struck to put the hosts 3-0 up at half-time.
Robben and Muller made it five goals on the night for the German giants, with Olivier Giroud's volley proving to be the smallest of consolations.
Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich - 20 October 2015
FBL-EUR-C1-ARSENAL-BAYERN MUNICH
Ozil struck late on / BEN STANSALL/GettyImages
Hurrah! Finally, a meeting that didn't end 5-1!
October 2015 was the last time Arsenal have beaten Bayern Munich and their group stage had gone horribly in the build-up, losing their opening two games to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos.
The Gunners had to dig in for large parts of the contest and got their rewards late in the second half, first through Giroud and then Mesut Ozil in the 94th minute.
Bayern Munich 1-1 Arsenal - 11 March 2014
FBL-EUR-C1-BAYERN-MUNICH-ARSENAL
It was too steep a mountain for Arsenal to climb in 2014 / CHRISTOF STACHE/GettyImages
Arsenal couldn't manage to avoid defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie with Bayern in 2014, losing after Wojciech Szczesny's red card was compounded by strikes from Toni Kroos and Muller.
That made the trip to Germany a daunting one and they couldn't gather enough momentum to make a first of reaching the quarter-finals. Bastian Schweinsteiger's effort was quickly cancelled out on the night by Lukas Podolski, with Bayern too strong to allow any late drama.
They'd defeat Manchester United in the last eight before eventual winners Real Madrid eliminated them in the semi-finals.
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich - Last 10 results
Result
Date
Competition
Arsenal 1-5 Bayern Munich
7 March 2017
Champions League last 16 second leg
Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal
15 February 2017
Champions League last 16 first leg
Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal
4 November 2015
Champions League group stage
Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich
20 October 2015
Champions League group stage
Bayern Munich 1-1 Arsenal
11 March 2014
Champions League last 16 second leg
Arsenal 0-2 Bayern Munich
19 February 2014
Champions League last 16 first leg
Bayern Munich 0-2 Arsenal
13 March 2013
Champions League last 16 second leg
Arsenal 1-3 Bayern Munich
19 February 2013
Champions League last 16 first leg
Arsenal 1-0 Bayern Munich
9 March 2005
Champions League last 16 second leg
Bayern Munich 3-1 Arsenal
22 February 2005
Champions League last 16 first leg
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